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Veronica Guerin (USA/UK/Ireland, 2003)

Directed by: Joel Schumacher. If I didn’t know any better, I would never guess that this came from the same guy who made the two shittiest and funniest Batman movies ever. I have a huge interest in Irish culture in film, and even though this isn’t an overtly political or historical film, it is a period piece (mid 90’s), based on fact, and very much tied up in the politics of Ireland’s drug war and class war of that period. Having seen John Boorman’s and Brendan Gleeson’s depiction of real gangster Martin Cahill in The General, it’s immediately pretty interesting to see the vastly different portrayal of that guy in this film. Beyond that, though, and beyond any question of fact or fiction, this is a pretty good movie. I’d definitely say that this movie is less for people who like Irish history and culture than it is for people who like to watch great actors. Cate Blanchett is great as always, Gerard McSorley is disturbingly powerful, and Ciaran Hinds is a treat to watch in his trademark role as a solid supporting player. This is a decent, not too watered-down, not too Americanized look at a really interesting figure in recent Irish history, and it’s directed by one of the foremost Hollywood shlock directors of our time. Who would have thought?